


It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

by withpractice_ff



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Bad Matchmaking, Dean is a well-meaning bro, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 12:15:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15581799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withpractice_ff/pseuds/withpractice_ff
Summary: Dean has an absolutely genius plan for getting Sami away from Kevin and he definitely knows exactly what he's doing.





	It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [storyranger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/storyranger/gifts).



“Don’t get me wrong, Kevin’s definitely a piece of crap,” Dean says around a mouthful of pizza. “But Shane’s the asshole here, yeah?”

On the screen of the Macbook in Seth’s lap, Kevin and Shane haven’t even made it into the cell yet, the two of them brawling at the foot of the entrance ramp. Seth watches Shane McMahon as he beats the crap out of one of his employees and thinks that he’s not so different from his sister, not really. He wonders if Dean is thinking the same thing, if there’s a deeper meaning to Dean’s seemingly innocent question.

Then Dean’s shifting beside him on the hotel bed, casually pressing into him to get a better view of the small laptop screen. He’s already moving on in the conversation, reminiscing in that easy way of his about the time he and Seth fell from the side of the cell and onto the announce table, like those times when they used to try to kill each other were all in good fun--like that anger and pain is well and truly behind them and it’s safe to laugh about it now. 

So Sean relaxes, lets himself lean into Dean a little and says, “I think Shane’s a bit smarter than us and will keep it on the ground, at least.”

“Mr. Coast to Coast?” Dean asks rhetorically, reaching for another slice of pepperoni. On the screen, Shane’s throwing Kevin into the audience barricade. “Ten bucks says one or both of them’s flying off the top of that cage before the night’s over.”

And it turns out Dean’s right, with Shane thwarting Kevin’s attempt to climb down the cell by sending Kevin careening into the Spanish announce table below.

“Ha!” Dean crows, while Seth is still flinching in sympathy. He sticks a hand out expectantly. “Hand it over, buddy!”

“Nah,” Seth says, shaking his head and smacking Dean’s hand away. “You said the _top_ of the cage, not the side.”

Dean looks like he’s ready to argue semantics, but then Shane’s manhandling Kevin onto the US announce table and scaling back up the cell. “Alright, fine, I can wait another minute or two.”

“What is he _doing?_ ” Seth breathes. Shane’s reached the top of the cage, looking down at Kevin with murder in his eyes. “He’s not really going to jump from up there.”

“Watch him,” Dean says confidently.

So they watch, the both of them holding their breaths as Shane performs the sign of the cross and then throws himself elbow first from the top of the cage. Neither of them expects to see Sami Zayn, of all people, appear from seemingly nowhere to pull Kevin out of harm’s way. Shane lands on the announce table hard and is immediately swarmed by the ringside staff.

“Okay, _now_ I owe you ten bucks,” Seth relents, shaking off his shock and turning to Dean.

Dean, who looks like he’s just seen a ghost.

  


* * *

  


It’s after eleven in the morning, and Seth lets himself into Dean’s hotel room without bothering to knock; if Dean’s not already up and at ‘em by now, Seth’s going to have to wake him up so they’re not late getting to the arena.

“Well that’s because I’m an idiot,” Dean’s saying, coming out of the bathroom with his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth and his cell phone pressed to his ear. Seth can tell the moment Dean spots him, the way Dean’s eyes go wide and panicked for just a fraction of a second. “Hey, I gotta go. But listen, for real, think about what I said.”

Dean hangs up on whoever he was talking to without so much as a goodbye and disappears back into the bathroom. Seth makes himself comfortable on the same bed they’d been camped out in last night while he waits for Dean to finish getting ready. Eventually Dean reappears smelling like mint and soap and wearing what Seth is relatively sure are clean clothes.

“Who was that on the phone?” Seth asks.

Dean hesitates long enough for Seth to worry that he’s made a mistake in asking, that maybe there are still some things between them that haven’t been fully resolved. Dean eyes Seth with consideration, and he must find whatever he’s looking for in the appraisal because eventually he says, “Was just checking in on Sami, wanted to see what he was thinking with that shit he pulled last night.”

Seth’s confused until he remembers the handful of weeks Dean and Sami spent pseudo-tagging together when they were both on SmackDown. He remembers feeling vaguely jealous at the time, seeing how well the two of them got on.

“Didn’t realize you two were so close,” Seth says before he can stop himself.

Dean seems to take the comment in stride though, giving Seth a distracted shrug as he begins to haphazardly pack his suitcase. “He’s a good kid, don’t want to see him getting up to any trouble without ol’ Daddy Dean around to look after him.”

Seth immediately pulls a face. “Please, never call yourself that ever again.”

  


* * *

  


“Bálor’s kind of hot, right?” Dean asks a week later. They're in catering, watching the monitor as Finn talks some shit at Wyatt from the middle of the ring. “He’s got that accent, the leather jacket…”

“And everyone knows leather jackets are some hot shit,” Roman says, straight-faced as he tugs on the sleeve of the leather jacket Dean’s wearing.

“S’what I’m saying,” Dean affirms, either oblivious or uncaring, Seth can’t tell which. “His lips are, like, _crazy_ pink.”

“You’re gonna make your boy jealous,” Roman warns. Seth kicks Roman under the table and takes an aggressive bite of his apple, trying to hide his scowl.

“Oh baby,” Dean says, the monitor and Finn Bálor forgotten as he turns his full attention to Seth. “You know I’ve only got eyes for you.”

“You guys are assholes,” Seth complains, and takes another bite of his apple.

  


* * *

  


Seth is kind of jealous, honestly. Right now they’re supposed to be watching tape to prepare for their upcoming TLC match, and Dean has been texting on his phone for the last five minutes. Seth can count on one hand the number of texts he’s received from Dean in the last five _years_.

“Does whoever you’re messaging have any tips for taking down Strowman?” Seth asks, mostly joking but also maybe a little bit serious.

Dean startles, then looks thoughtful. “Actually, maybe. Let me ask him.”

Seth sighs and flops back onto the bed. “Who could you even be talking to, all of your friends are either in this room or on a plane.”

“Asshole,” Dean says affectionately, still typing furiously on his phone. “And it’s Sami, who has in fact squared up with Strowman a time or two. So you’re welcome, I asked if he’s got any tips.”

The phone in Dean’s hand buzzs with a response. Seth grabs for it, but Deans rolls to his feet and onto the other bed, out of Seth’s reach. 

“Fuckin’ nosey,” Dean chides. “He says keep your center of gravity low and do not get those hands.”

Seth laughs in spite of himself. “Helpful.”

“He’s a helpful kinda guy,” Dean says, then frowns down at this phone before tossing it onto the comforter. “Hey.”

Seth pauses The Bar vs Miztourage match playing on his laptop and turns to face Dean fully, feeling unease skip up his spine. “Uh, hey there.”

“So say Bálor were to come onto you in a bar or something,” Dean says, and Seth has literally no idea where this could be going. “You’d definitely be in for that, right? I mean, look at the guy.”

Seth tries to remember when Dean was last at a bar without him and comes up with a blank. “Did Bálor come on to you?”

“What? No,” Dean says, sounding legitimately confused. “I’m talking about him and Sami.”

“Bálor came on to Sami?” Now he really has no idea what they’re talking about, confusion fully replacing his earlier sense of dread.

“No, but he _should_ ,” Dean says with feeling. “You saw that NXT special thing they did, yeah? Playing with their Legos and shit?”

“Dean,” Seth laughs, feeling almost relieved by the strange turn this conversation has taken. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I mean, they seem like they’re pretty good friends and they’re both hot as fuck. Finn seems like a good dude and Sami is generally the _best_ dude, and if they were to start hooking it up probably Sami would try to get traded back to RAW and then he’d stop getting mixed up in this bullshit with Owens.”

Seth takes a second to process all that. “So you want to play matchmaker?”

“Fuck yeah!” Dean says, clearly relieved that Seth finally gets it.

“That sounds like a terrible idea--possibly the worst idea ever.”

“But you’ll help,” Dean says, not even a question, looking over at Seth with puppy dog eyes.

Seth sighs. “Fuck. Alright, yeah I guess.”

  


* * *

  


So the plan is to get Finn and Sami to go out with them when their respective rosters met up for Survivor Series. It shouldn’t be too hard, they figure--Finn and Sami _are_ friends, after all--but setting the mood, that’s going to be the tricky part.

“If you keep talking to Finn about the quality of Sami’s beard, he’s going to start thinking _you’re_ the one who wants to hook up with Sami,” Seth says as soon as Finn’s out of earshot.

“Well how else am I supposed to talk him up?” Dean asks, incredulous. Then his voice drops a register and he leans in toward Seth like he’s sharing a secret. “Besides, he’s not really my type. I like ‘em a little rougher around the edges, maybe with a dark past they’re tryin’ to atone for, you know?”

Seth feels his face heat and resolutely ignores it and basically everything Dean just said. “They’re already friends, I’m not sure how much you need to talk him up to Finn.”

“Friends who need to see each other in a whole new light,” Dean corrects, whatever moment was just happening between them now over. He slings a companionable arm around Seth’s shoulders and says, “Come on, let’s grab a beer and get to brainstormin’.”

  


* * *

  


`how pissed would u b if i slept with balor`

Dean sends the message off feeling incredibly pleased with himself. Five minutes later and he’s a little less certain it was a good idea, but after another ten minutes he’s sure it was a great idea and is annoyed Sami hasn’t messaged him back yet.

“You sent him _what?_ ” Seth asks, nearly spitting out his water.

“I’m playing the jealousy angle, it’s genius.”

“When this goes sideways,” Seth says, pointing at Dean with his fork, “I want you to remember this moment and know that it was definitely not my fault.”

“Psssh,” Dean says, waving away Seth’s nay-saying. He grins when his phone vibrates on the table.

`plz don’t sleep with my friends kthxbye`

`mean`  
`but fine`

`is that even on the table? you and finn???`

`no `  
`was just thinking ten steps ahead like always come on`

`think about walking ten steps away from him!  
i will fight for his honor, don’t make me come over there!`

`ok i get it ur a badass `  
`very scary`  
`ill keep it in my pants dad`

`idiot <3`

  


* * *

  


“How is this going to work without alcohol?” Dean asks suddenly, letting his weights drop to the mat in a manner that is definitely not safe and makes Seth immediately want to scold him. “You don’t just sober hook up with one of your best friends.”

Seth finishes his set of burpees, takes a dip swig of water, and catches his breath before he gives Dean a reply. 

“It’s fine if they don’t hook up,” Seth says carefully. He knows this means a lot to Dean, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily going to work out the way he wants it to. “I mean, Finn seems just as worried about this whole Kevin thing as you are; maybe he can talk some sense into Sami, no sex necessary.”

Dean frowns. “But they should definitely fuck. I really think they’d be into it.”

“They’d be into it or you’d be into it?” Seth asks, wriggling his eyebrows.

Dean barks out a laugh. “Not mutually exclusive, man.”

  


* * *

  


Dean really does think they’d be into it. The more time he spends getting to know Finn, the more he thinks the two of them are fuckin’ made for each other, stupid and smiley and _good_ in a way that few people are--in a way that Dean certainly isn’t. And the way they talk about each other, it seems like they’re already crazy about one another, so why not add a little nudity to the proceedings?

  


* * *

  


So the updated plan is this: 

Seth does the necessary research and manages to book a table for two the night before Survivor Series at one of the only vegetarian restaurants in Houston that actually takes reservations. It’s nice--but not too nice--and the very patient woman who took the reservation promised Dean she’d make sure “something romantic with cellos and shit” was quietly playing in the background when his friends arrived.

So they’ll tell Finn and Sami that they’re meeting at this restaurant, except when they get there Seth and Dean will be nowhere to be found and surprise, now they’re on a date.

It’s not a very good plan.

  


* * *

  


“Do you think they can see us?” Dean stage whispers. 

When the restaurant staff got the full story from Dean earlier in the evening, they were shockingly all in on the idea. And so now he and Seth are strategically positioned behind a particularly leafy ficus, just out of Finn and Sami’s line of sight. Seth sighs heavily and wonders how this has become his life, and if maybe he’s in deeper on this thing with Dean than he originally thought.

Before Seth can start freaking out in a ficus, Dean’s phone buzzes in his pocket, heralding two new messages from Sami.

`table for two???  
where are you???`

`surprise its a date ur wecome`

`i’m sorry, come again?`

`maybe tonight if ur lucky`  
`heyo`

`are you seriously not coming?  
you’re totally not  
wtf i hate you`

`luv u bro !`

Dean and Seth watch as Sami hands his phone over to Finn--a bold move Dean had honestly not expected. Finn reads Sami’s recent exchange with Dean and laughs, and Sami laughs along with him, but both of them are blushing hard enough that Dean can see it all the way across the restaurant and actually, this was the greatest plan ever.

“Can we go get dinner now?” Seth whispers, pulling a leaf out of his hair. “Nothing more we can do from within our jungle forest over here.”

“Sure, if you admit this was a good plan.”

The look Seth gives Dean is patently unimpressed. “Dean.”

“Look at ‘em!” Dean says, gesturing toward his friends. They’re laughing over something, heads bent low and bodies angled toward each other. They look like people on a date, Seth has to admit.

“It does look like it might be working,” Seth relents.

“Hell yeah! You can buy me dinner to celebrate.”

Seth scoffs, letting Dean lead him to the exit. “More like you can buy _me_ dinner to thank me for hiding out in a potted plant with you.”

  


* * *

  


`so howd it go  
was i right or was i right`

`um, heyo?`

`ha ! UR WELCOME`


End file.
